New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS): While India has the maximum number of blind people in the world, most do not know that in more than 85 per cent of the cases, the condition is preventable, said experts on Thursday on World Sight Day.

India is home to an estimated 34 million people living with blindness or moderate or severe visual impairment (MSVI).

“Nearly 85 per cent of blindness in the world is avoidable which can either be preventable or treatable,” Dr. Rajesh Sinha, Professor, Dept. of Ophthalmology, AIIMS New Delhi said.

The expert called the need for public awareness so that a majority of people in the society who may become blind due to ignorance maintain their sight for life.

“Ocular causes of preventable blindness can be infections, vitamin A deficiency while causes of treatable blindness can be cataract, uncorrected refractive error, diabetic retinopathy,” Sinha said.

According to the National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey, cataract is the leading cause of blindness, accounting for 66.2 per cent of all cases of blindness in India.

Uncorrected refractive errors account for 18.6 per cent, and glaucoma for 6.7 per cent. Other causes of blindness and vision impairment include corneal opacities (0.9 per cent), childhood blindness (1.7 per cent), and diabetic retinopathy (3.3 per cent).

“It is important to spread awareness around preventable blindness because more than 85 per cent of the blindness is preventable if only people know how to address them,” said Dr. Ikeda Lal, Senior Cornea, Cataract and Refractory Surgery Specialist, at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi.

The common reasons for blindness in India include cataract, glaucoma, macular degeneration, uncorrected refractive error, and corneal blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy is another very important reason for blindness in India, especially considering the high prevalence of diabetes in the country, Lal said.The experts advocated the need for early screenings to detect eye problems and prevent vision loss.